This article centers on the use of place-based education (PBE), an internationally known and employed pedagogy. This yearlong, mixed-methods study centers on a grant-funded program aimed at supporting secondary teachers' implementation of environmental place-based education (PBE), specifically meaningful watershed education experiences (MWEEs).…

International comparisons suggest that middle school American students compare poorly to their international peers in tasks that require spatial skills. This deficiency in spatial skills is more prominent in females and has been linked to a lack of developmental activities influenced by gender norms. These deficiencies are especially concerning as…

Background: Given levels of sedentary behavior among youth, teachers have been called upon to increase physical activity (PA) by implementing classroom PA breaks. School-based interventions enacted in classroom settings have shown promise in increasing youth PA. Yet little is known about how teacher efficacy toward implementing classroom PA breaks…

Adolescence can be a particularly difficult time for youth as they experience the physical, social, and academic changes that accompany maturation. One of the most critical challenges for schools is teaching adolescent students positive social and emotional skills, which are crucial for them to succeed academically and emotionally. "Strong…

Maker-based learning activities offer benefits to both students and educators; however, there exist few research examples that examine how educators enact a process of identity exploration when implementing maker activities in their instruction. The Projective Reflection framework was used to assess three science educators' identity exploration as…

This design-based research investigated the context and impact of a three-year practice-based professional development (PD) project introducing science teachers to pedagogical shifts required for full implementation and synergy among disciplinary literacy components of "Next Generation Science Standards" and "Common Core State…

Two cohorts of teachers participated in a professional development program in summer 2016 and 2017 focused on incorporating global perspectives and activities into K-12 classrooms using contemporary technologies. One part of this program required teachers to plan and carry out a global project with an international classroom as a means to…

Purpose: Turkey has gained a new education policy together with the introduction of 2023 Educational Vision. With this motivation, the Antalya Provincial Directorate of National Education has started a project entitled "School 2023" to contribute to the goals of this vision. This research aimed at examining the opinions of the teachers,…

In a 2013-2014 Australia-China Council project, middle school students in Australia and China shared digital stories about their everyday lives and local cultures, and traditional tales with a modern twist. This article reports on research that aimed to explore the successes and challenges associated with this digital story exchange between…

Student-Question-Based Inquiry (SQBI) represents a form of inquiry where pupils design their research questions, hypotheses, and protocols. The "Savanturiers" program aims at helping teachers overcome their potential apprehension of SQBI by matching hundreds of elementary and middle school teachers with mentors. These mentors are usually…

Preparing students to be successful in high school AP courses and exams begins at the middle school level. SpringBoard is a program created by the CollegeBoard to bridge content expected in high school with the current middle school curriculum. SpringBoard was introduced and piloted in the Colonial School District during the 2014-2015 school year…

Over the course of six years, a diverse group of school districts and charter management organizations in California ran a substantial experiment in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in elementary and middle grades. WestEd led an extensive evaluation of that effort, the California K-8 NGSS Early Implementers Initiative,…

This paper describes a 54-hour summer institute for grades 6-12 mathematics and science teachers (N = 19) with a comprehensive approach to preparing teachers to use computational thinking (CT) in their classrooms, including training in Python computer programming with Lego® Mindstorms® robotics, mathematics content sessions, and opportunities to…

Teacher-student relationships (TSR) have long been demonstrated to have significant impact on student outcomes. There has been far less research, however, focused on identifying the specific mindsets that educators' hold which influence their actions toward students. As relationships are situated and contextual and qualitative in nature, this case…

Teaching English as foreign language (EFL) has grown around the world. However, certain regions have experienced little empirical research into the practices and results of these EFL programs. This study looks at English as foreign language teachers in Niger, an Expanding Circle country, to understand their training, instruction, and attitudes.…